@cloudystar
@Rune_Alchemist
@Lady Athena
@LordofthePies
@RabidAnubis

Seems like something interesting is happening with Vilivyn and Lena. Then again, most of the people here are strange. Countless nobles littered the crowd, most of whom seemed to hold a disdain for nearly everyone in the group. Understandable, Samuel thought. I would have been apprehensive of a demon, an elf, and an orc all in the same place back when I was their age. Even now, I... No, now isn't the time...

Samuel sighs and looks at a very red Lena. She seems to still be embarrassed about what happened earlier, but is trying to conversation with the the rest of the party. Good, that shy orc could probably use someone to talk to, and Samuel was only ever good at talking about the lord and giving cryptic, inspirational quotes... That last part is all because of that old man... Samuel wished he at least knew where he went... or where he's buried.

Soon the last late arrival appears, someone who covers themselves with a hooded robe... Hopefully we don't have another demon... I don't think my heart could take it... Samuel shakes his head to rid it of those thoughts, and turns to the robed individual. "You're lucky, we were just about to enter the portal... I do hope you brought a weapon, I doubt the others could protect the both of us."

"...How rude of me! My name is Father Samuel, I am pleased to make your acquaintance. We can talk later, if you would like."

A flash of light later, and the party reemerges in some kind of forest. I have to learn how to do that... Samuel thinks to himself, before moving in front of a large podium.



"...including royalty and officials. Good luck and may this trial be ever in your favor!"

Samuel looks nervously to the collection of dummies nearby. Samuel had never learned a spell in his life, the only reason he knows the few of spells he does is because Gabriel does all the casting for him... How the hell can an old man like him compete with these kids! After looking around, Samuel doubts even a single person there was over half his age... Not a great confidence booster. Looking towards the group, Samuel decides to be one of the first. Better get the embarrassment out of the way first, right?

"If you don't mind, I'll go over here and try out. Good luck!"

As he says this, Vilivyn begins to walk into the forest, having already completed her handout.

Samuel writes his name off quickly on each of the small handouts, and selects the training dummies for each of his forms.

Beast form: Training Dummy.

Material Form: Training Dummy.

User Form: Catalyst Dummy.

Any: Recorder dummy.

He then began to walk into the forest, a direction opposite of Vilivyn.

---

The robed person looks at the elf girl and then to the older man. The robed person doesn't say anything to either of them. But she does a simple nod, making sure her face stays in the darkness of her hood. They didnt seem very interested in what people were telling the hooded figure. Next thing the person knew there was a bright light and a letter appearing. The robed person stared at the letter for a while before signing the name Felicia with their finger.

As the contract vanishes into thin air and another question arises. The robed figure looks at it and puts through one of each of the dummy's and shuts their eyes. Upon reopening their eyes, they begin to follow both the demon like girl, but still keeping her distance.

@LordofthePies@Duoya@RabidAnubis@Rune_Alchemist@cloudystar

~Tania and Lena~

---

Lena felt a tad bit disappointed that the robed person didn't return the greeting, aside from a simple nod. Had she done something wrong? Did she screw up again? Did she stare? The elf merely looked back towards the ground, somewhat disheartened but said nothing. Tania harrumphed atop her head, laying down and propping her chin up with her palms as they reached their destination. The portal. Lena walked through, emerging within the lush forests on the other side. The forest was absolutely fantastic. Elf stereotypes aside, she did like nature and being outdoors in general. She almost wanted to go smell some of the flowers.

"Focus champ," Tania said, waving a hand in front of her vision. "Boss lady's speakin'"

Right. Quieting down and focusing on the speaker, Lena listened intently to their instructions and rules. Only forty our of sixty would be chosen as adventurers, which meant she couldn't screw up here. She'd have to be as good as she ever was, and be as serious and focused as she could muster if she wanted to win. The blond elf frowned slightly as Iniya continued. She'd be judged in four categories. Attacker, Defender, Magic, and Ranged. Out of all of those, she was only good with maybe two, if should could use the Barrier spell correctly.

Before she could summarize her thoughts further, a paper drifted down from the sky, dropped by a bird, staring at it intently before signing her full name. She had to choose four dummies to practice on. Practice dummies weren't something she wasn't used too - she practiced on them quite often...granted they managed to still win sometimes when she tripped over her own feet, but it hadn't happened in awhile. If she could manage not to screw anything up, she'd be fine.

"Alright, simple enough." Tania said from atop her head. "I'd do Training, Training, Recorder, and then Training again." That seemed...rather specific. Three training's and a recorder.

"Erm...are you sure?" Lena questioned.

"Well, you don't have any magic that helps anyone else, so Catalyst is out. Your shield spell is only gonna blow up or put a shield in front of ya," Lena frowned at hearing Tania so casually mentioning her failures, but said nothing. "Training's about as simple as it gets, Champ, since you're gonna be pokin' things with that sword of yours or me and a Recorder would be a good way of showcasing what else we're good at. As for the final training dummy...well, we can use that. " The pixie laughed smugly, causing Lena's eyes to widen slightly.

"W-wah? You...y-you sure? I normally...mess that up pretty badly."

"Hey, don't worry Lena. You'l do fiiiine." Tania replied dismissively. A few seconds passed as the elf contemplated the words of the pixie before sighing in defeat.

"W-well...alright, if you're sure..." Lena wasn't so sure she could pull it off, but Tania's reasoning made sense, at least. Within a few seconds she wrote on the paper what dummies she'd be using.

Beast form: Training
Material Form: Training
User form: Recorder
Any: Training Dummy

"Great! Now come on champ, we got some training dummies to make cry." With that, Tania leaped off her head and zoomed in a direction away from the others. Lena would probably do better in a place where no one was watching...or at least, she thought no one would be watching her.

"H-hey wait up!" Lena bolted off after her, quickly getting lost in the forest.

---

"Surely I'd win either way, though."

"Hehe, you're making me more and more excited for that race now...though it wouldn't be surprising if I lose, you can fly after all."

Okami was kinda upset that the two others were heading off on their own to take on their trials. However, Lupa licked his forehead to bring him back to his senses and he nods in response. "Right girl, this is our time too! Just like training, we got this!" He energetically signs his name quickly after the slip came back down and the four training dummies came out of the sky for him to carry. They weren't particularly too heavy since he was used to carrying these objects at the tavern and Lupa tries to lead the way to Viivyn with her snout. He doesn't take too long to catch up, just taking a deep breath to relax as he approaches the girl with the hooded person from earlier. Looking back to see Reshenar not following yet, he waits for her too as he reaches the Spirit-Touched.

"You know...just want to point out, you never really fully introduced yourself to us Viivyn...only Samuel's Spirit. And too bad the others don't want to do this together, was hoping we could think of suggestions for each other. What are you guys planning to do? I think for the fourth one I'll use my Unity Form. Takes up all of my energy as well as Lupa's...so I'll do it last. Can't wait to see what kind of tricks you guys can do...including you hooded person. The name is Okami and I hope you enjoyed being late as us, but now that we're somewhat acquainted, mind telling us your name? Promise we won't bite...well I can't really promise for Lupa..."

He jokes a bit about Lupa biting which leads to her taking a large bite on his head. Dropping the dummies onto the ground as he tries to yank Lupa off, he hops around for a moment before Lupa escapes and hides back inside her Catalyst. Okami laughs a bit and picks up the dummies once more to face the duo who was with him. "That...was for good luck I think. Let's hope this goes well for all of us!"

@Lady Athena@Rune_Alchemist@LordofthePies@RabidAnubis@Duoya

@cloudystar@Lady Athena

Vilivyn looked back as two figures decided to follow her, listening as the man asked for both the hooded figure to say who they were in addition to asking her to ... reintroduce herself? Non-Spirits didn't like being treated the same as spirits, strangely. It was a bit odd, being forced to introduce herself to each person individually when all of them were in a group setting, but she'd do it! The guy seemed friendly enough, and would probably make for good conversation!

"I'm VilivynVinoriaza, hexing foes and seeing dreams!" For a moment, the girl paused, as if in thought. "Whatareyourdreams like? Are they pleasant? Scary? Would they be worth watching?" The demoness truthfully knew that seeing other people's dreams was considered a large invasion of their privacy, since they usually spelled out their fears and desires quite plainly. However she was putting on a small scene, bouncing as they walked.

The hooded figure quickly captured her curiosity though, and the girl found herself jumping slightly towards the figure and trying to look beneath the hood. Of course, the thing was designed to prevent that from being easy, but it was worth the effort! After a moment Vilivyn huffed, pouting slightly. "You might be shy, butthat'sno reason to hide yourself! I'm shy sometimes too, but I show a little skin!"

---

The robed person looks at man clothed in white who was introducing himself and his spirit and the demoness who was trying to look under the hood. Within the robe there is movement which out of no where just stops. The robed figured doesnt change in structure or emotion. It just continues to walk with the demoness and the rich looking man without saying a word. It seemed as if the robed figure was not interested in conversation and it didnt seem to be shy at the same time. It stood strong and seemed to be proud of the forest around them all.

The figure turned back to the other two and nodded slowly. It seemed to like the opening around them. It was flat enough to use the dummies on, but at the same time it would be considered as an openning. The hooded figure drops to the ground as it seems to be waiting for the both of them to say something

@LordofthePies@Duoya@RabidAnubis@Rune_Alchemist@cloudystar

Soon after parting with the group, the four dummies Samuel requested dropped from the sky, nearly knocking him to the ground. Several minutes of complaining and setting up passed by, and soon, all four of the dummies were set up, roughly three meters apart from one another. Samuel contemplated what to do for a minute before he removed the cloth body of a training dummy, and placed it on the ground. Samuel used a nearby stick to make multiple tears across the body to serve as "wounds".

...the people of Magnopere are watching, including royalty and officials.

As soon as she said these words, Samuel knew just how to demonstrate his value and skills. Lacking any sort of regular weapon made any floor on the tower life-threatening to Samuel, but not all people needed to use combat to receive a license. Collecting some nearby moss and using the left-over clothes from his trip to the city, Samuel fashioned makeshift bandages...

Performing first aid was all Samuel could do at the moment. It's not like he had the supplies for actual surgery, and even the most basic aid could mean the difference between life and death, especially in a place as dangerous as the tower. Some bandaging, CPR, and a loud explanation on different parts of the human body and how to treat them for cuts and internal bleeding later and Samuel decided to leave for the next training dummy. Hopefully, his expertise shined through his lack of materials.



"Come, Gabriel."

A flash of white light accompanied by a sudden weight on his arm were the response to Samuel as he said those words. A small buckler of pure white with a red cross to serve as a blazon was attached to Samuel's forearm. Feeling less like a piece of metal and more akin to a new piece of his arm that he's never had, Samuel slowly exhaled as he approached the training dummy. Sure, he was old, but he sure as hell wasn't helpless... He hopes he isn't as least... Samuel silently charged the dummy in a very clumsy bashing motion.

Minutes passed, and the stake that held the dummy was slightly curved, nearly bent. Samuel dropped to the ground panting, sweat pouring off of his body and pooling below him. That... could have gone better... Samuel thinks to himself. After several minutes of gulping down air and resisting the urge to vomit what little material was in his stomach, Samuel moved to the Recorder dummy, dejected.

Alex watched and waited for his turn. Be it chance or fate, he didn't stand too far from the other group of adventurers. Who seemingly already bonded together. But the boy was a little too focused. There was a certain tension around him. As if he was both anxious and excited to get started. It was clear he couldn't wait to get started. While he managed to evade the falling dummies, it was done so with little skill and grace. Still, he set them up nicely and prepared himself.

The Beast form test was pretty straightforward. So Alex chose a training dummy for Nimeuh. Who moved out after a small nod. As many would have expected, the cat used her sharp claws. Going at the straw dummy. But with lightning speed. The little feline managed to jump around the dummy, pretending to evade attacks as it hissed at the lifeless object. This continued until Alex said: "That's enough, Nimueh." She stopped immediately, walked up to her companion, sat down and licked her paws. As if nothing just happened. Next to him he heard the labored breathing of an old man. Which moved towards a Recorder dummy. Nimueh looked confused at her companion, as he moved away from the training dummy towards the man. "Hey, you ok? It's not my place to ask this really but are you sure you want to go up into the tower-" there really was no way he could say this without sounding insulting: "that kind of physique?" Nimueh was growing impatient, though.

Without Alex's expressed approval she turned into her material form. Two black orbs appeared just behind Alex's shoulders, floating ni the air.

---

"Whatareyourdreams like? Are they pleasant? Scary? Would they be worth watching?"

"My dreams? Doubt you'd want to visit them, um...they're just me running most of the time if I recall the last one. Though I wouldn't mind if you'd joined in and said hi once in a while. Lupa and I could use the company in there I guess."

"You might be shy, butthat'sno reason to hide yourself! I'm shy sometimes too, but I show a little skin!"

He laughs a bit when Vilivyn says that to the cloaked person and stretches a bit when he kinda gets the signal given. Okami quickly puts down the dummies and sets them up for himself to use soon but for now watches the others. He was rather curious on what they were going to do to complete the trial and was really waiting for Lupa to gather all her energy in her Catalyst before he starts his. Lupa kept focusing on eating up all sorts of energy flows that was inside the Catalyst, patiently waiting for the prime moment to come out and release it. Looking at the other two and back at where they started, he was really wondering where the orc lady from before was and how the others were doing.

"Hehe...you definitely show more skin than most from what I normally see but there's no need to be so pushy. We'll let the hooded one choose when to reveal, more surprise and awe that way. Anyway, what were you two planning to do? Think I'll use the Unison Form for the last fourth dummy of mine to try and wow those judges. Might work...I think."

@Lady Athena@Rune_Alchemist@LordofthePies@RabidAnubis@Duoya@Legion02

~Tania and Lena~

---

Lena followed after Tania, who led her far enough away from the others so she would at least be somewhat more comfortable. It wasn't far enough away that she could see or hear them, but it was at least a comfortable distance. Honestly, Lena would have preferred to stick near the others somewhat, but at least this way she probably wouldn't get in anyones way and could focus on doing good in this little exam. She'd try to push the fact that she would still be being watched by important people to the back of her mind. She couldn't allow herself to screw this up.

"Hmm...right, I think this is good enough!" Tania twirled in the air, after bringing her to a sufficiently level space where she would have the least risk of tripping over her own feet. "Right right, then! Bring out the dummies!~"

Lena set up the first one. A training Dummy. Truth be told, Tania was rather useless by herself. Or at least, she never used any sort of magic around Lena in the time they had known each other, so this one would be purely on her own skill as a swordsman. Lena stared down the artificial opponent, drawing the steel sword at her side. The blade was heavier and longer than Tania's bladed form, and likely not as sharp but it was high quality steel, forged to the best her former teacher could make it.

"Alright, Lena, you got this." Tania said reassuringly, fluttering over and giving Lena a pat on the head "Just stay calm, and you'll ace this." Lena nodded, squaring off against the dummy, a yard or so between it and her. The elf held the blade in her hands as Tania fluttered away over to the sidelines, making sure she wouldn't get in Lena's way for this first little demonstration of her skills.

"Just remember your footwork, don't lose your head, and focus..." She muttered to herself. Lena moved towards the Dummy in a fairly quick fashion, closing the yard or so between them quickly. As soon as she was upon the dummy, she attacked. The steel blade met the dummies side, causing a surprisingly deep nick in the defenseless object. Lena kept at it for barely a minute, and by the time she was done the dummy was barely left standing.

Taking a few steps back, Lena let out a breath and admired her handywork. With a grin, she turned to Tania who gave her a little cheer from the sidelines, zooming over and giving her a bright grin.

"That was great. No blunders at all, Lena! That'd probably impress those morons up there watching."

"R-right," Lena said, catching her breath a bit. Despite being able to wield it fairly effectively, using the weighty sword always was somewhat taxing. She should work on her physical strength... "Ready for the next round?"

"Always ready to make some dummies regret being born...er...built? Anyways, yep! Lets go!"

@cloudystar@Lady Athena

Vilivyn fluttered her eyes slightly in surprise as the man seemed to be alright with her simply invading his dreams. Most people seemed far more reluctant to have a demon wonder through their mind then him. Although she was about to ask what he meant about running, the man continued with another thought.

The man stated that she showed more skin than most, and the seventeen year old girl pouted slightly as she wasn't supported in getting the hooded figure to reveal themselves in person. It wasn't nice to hide behind such things! Or friendly! But in the end, the succubus decided to set up one of her practice dummies, starting with one of the normal dummies for purposes of starting with her weakest form, material. After closing her eyes for a second, a small scythe barely large enough to be carried in both hands appeared, and the black haired girl held it unsteadily.

"I figured I would ... gooutwithabang!" Which translated to: I'm not good at this, so I'll do my best stuff last. After hesitating for a moment, the demoness took a swing at the practice dummy but managed to trip half way through and fall onto her knees.

Well, things would get better, right!? "I will strike thee!" The demoness lifted herself off the ground and charged enthusiastically, managing to hit the object this time but running into it in the process before she stopped herself, sending the two of them sprawling onto the ground.

The demoness assumed a criss-crossed sitting position as she managed to recover herself, returning Siren to beast form. A pout ran across her face as she looked at the ground. That was embarrassing.

---

The robed person once again looked to the rich looking boy and doesnt respond vocally. It just does a casual nod before getting to it's feet and walking off a bit so it is alone. It places down the training dummy and slices the dummy swiftly with the katana. Upon slicing the dummy the robed figure puts the katana away and returns to the other two people.

The robed figure seemed comfortable around the rich looking boy and the demoness, but especially the demoness. The figure shakes it's head at the sight of the demoness being clumsy and being horrible at fighting. Though it doesnt offer any help or anything. It sits across from the demoness on the ground in a position which would seem like the crossing of legs

@RabidAnubis@cloudystar

@Lady Athena
@RabidAnubis
@Rune_Alchemist
@cloudystar
@Legion02

Samuel laid on the ground for what seemed like an eternity. Oh lord, please kill me now... Samuel slowly regains feeling in his limbs and, as he does so, feels Gabriel begin to vibrate on his arm. A young man wearing some combination of cloth and leather and a sympathetic face was walking towards his location, with some strange cat-like creature following behind him. I really am the only adult here, aren't I... The young man looked at Samuel as he crawled towards the recorder dummy and, with a pained expression, said:

"Hey, you OK? It's not my place to ask this really but are you sure you want to go up into the tower-"

He stops briefly. Don't you say it. Don't you dare say it-

"With that kind of physique?

Samuel looks down, dejected, before looking up to the young man. "I know that I may seem weaker than most of the people here... In fact, I am almost positive that I am. However, I am more than willing to show you what I am capable of."

Raising his hand to the sky, Samuel collects the energy he has left and shouts.

"DEUS VULT!"

A flash of light appeared and the metal buckler that was attached to Samuel's forearm was no longer there. Instead, Samuel was standing with two large, feathery wings attached to his back and a small glowing halo hovering over his head. I've been trying to do that... I looked so cool! Samuel coughed and held out his hand.

"I pray to thee, oh merciful lord: grant me your blessing, so I may use your strength!" A surge of strength rushes through Samuel body, as a light red glow surrounds his entire body. Pushing himself forwards, he beat down on the recorder dummy with his bare hands. A short time later, the wood stock snapped and the cloth body had lost an arm. Samuel quickly turns to the last dummy, the catalyst dummy, and holds out a shaking arm. "I pray to thee... Oh merciful lord... cure this innocent of... the poisons of sin..." A soft, white light surrounds the dummy briefly, before quickly dissipating. Samuel breathes very heavily as he raises his shaking arm one last time. "I pray to thee... oh god in heaven... grant your disciple with... speed unparalleled..." As Samuel falls to the ground, a green light surrounds the dummy.

"Told... you. Do I look... so weak anymore?

... Oh god, I'm pathetic. I'm trying to show off to a kid. And I'm failing at that... At least I showed my capabilities as as a support. That alone should be worth a lot to the judges, even if I need the others for protection. Samuel gulps down air greedily, as he turns to see the man with some strange objects hovering over his back.

---

The summoner looks at Vilvyn for a long moment...then he heads over to help her up. He thought at first, Is she...okay? Maybe she's good in some other tricks or magic too. Give her the benefit of the doubt. Okami did notice the other hooded person go and sees the dummy get sliced by a katana rather quickly. Though he didn't notice any Spirits forming around her and such, he did admire her style and gave a small applause to her after she was done.

"Nice one! And you too Vilvyn, you'll do even better I bet on the next few. Guess I'll do my turn too...and Lupa doesn't have to use too much energy on this one too."

He starts facing one of the dummies he set up from earlier and gets ready to fight. Okami puts up his right fist and right leg, with Lupa's energy flowing out of his pocket to both his body parts. The two suddenly have a metal iron knuckle and a metal tipped combat boot as he goes back into a stance to fight the dummy. He charges it rather quickly to trip/break the pole keeping it up with his foot, using a swift kick. The dummy starts to go down for a moment, and Okami finishes off the combo by launching a hard punch into the face just as fast as he did the kick. He relaxes after doing the quick strikes and the energy from the Material Forms disperse without too much problem.

"Done! Guess I could work on fighting a bit better, but at least I was able to keep up the speed...probably should do it faster so that it's impressive to the judges. Glad I have still enough energy for my Unison Form...going to be tons of fun and energy consumption when I'm done with it though. If you guys can drag me around to where we have to go after I use it, it'll be very much appreciated."

@Lady Athena@RabidAnubis

Alex watched wide-eyed to the old man who basically turned into an angel. That was the kind of power he’d need to protect Alexis. No doubt. The power of a literal guardian angel. The old man then proceeded to beat down on the dummy with not a care for the world. Something Alex could barely believe, as he witnessed the old man crawling over the floor just a few moments ago. Awe and respect formed in Alex’s heart as he heard the incantations. He had no idea what the old man meant with ‘the poisons of sin’ but he guessed it could only do good to someone. But from the third incantation, the only one he heard completely, he guessed the man’s power came from his faith. Not too surprising, he guessed. He should have known from his garment and transformation that he was talking to a man of faith.

"Told... you. Do I look... so weak anymore?”

Alex grinned a little. The man was exhausted, but Alex could hardly hold that against him. After beating down a dummy like that and casting two support spells, he’d imagine he was drained as well. But he wasn’t stupid. A sudden surge in power after being exhausted, only to return to a tired state? The man was showing off, and he wasn’t planning to loose from an old man who believed in a god.

“No but, hold on please. I need to finish my stuff.”

Alex swiftly returned to his own dummy. For Nimeuh’s material form another dummy stood ready. “Okay, Nimueh. Let’s prove ourselves. To the old man. To the guilds. To the Goodguards. To Alexis!” With that, he outstretched his first arm, as if he was using some form of martial art. With his palm open, he hit the air, but one orb from his back flew up towards the dummy. And it missed. In fact, it would have hit another competitor if the range on it wasn’t just a little bit bigger. Instead, it dissolved right before it hit them. “Sorry!” the kid yelled, sincerely apologetic. After that, he took another breath and launched his second orb in the same fashion. This time it connected with a rather loud impact. The first orb had returned now, and Alex quickly threw that one as well. It hit the dummy in the side and deflected towards the ground. This continued for a few moments. As Alex tried to hit the dummy but sometimes missed completely. His misses often nearly hit people, after which he always yelled a sorry. But he wasn’t giving up. Eventually, from all the force delivered, the wood holding the dummy to its weights cracked and the dummy toppled over. With a childish jump, he screamed: “Yes!”

But Nimueh was getting impatient. She didn’t give her master much time to rejoice. The little spirit fused with her master. The circlet formed on his head and he felt how ‘gates were opened’ within his body. With a deep breath, he moved towards the third dummy and started lifting his arms. It took some power and focus, but slowly his telekinesis lifted the dummy up for him. Alex would have preferred if he could slam it into the ground with extra force from the telekinesis. But his powers were waning and he still had the final dummy. So instead he just released his grip on the dummy. It felt tumbling down into the floor. Satisfied with the result, he moved towards the final dummy and outstretched his arms once more. But this time he didn’t just mentally grasp it. Instead, he formed a pyramid with his thumbs and pointing fingers. From deep within him he summoned the psionic power and released it in a ray starting from the pyramid. Satisfied, but tired, he released Nimueh from the focus, letting her take on her animal shape.

He turned back towards the priest. Suddenly realizing he never introduced himself. That and he that he gave in to some silly contest of power. Which wasn’t just childish, it did no good to a future guardian. Internally he berated himself from acting out so childish. “Sorry, I just realized, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Alex Reinner. Tell me, priest. Are you looking for someone to team up with? Because I would definitely want someone like you having my back.” To add to his already sincere tone he outstretched his arm and gave the old man a sincere smile. All the while Nimueh jumped on his shoulder, meowing. Smelling something interesting.

The first level of the Tower of Babel was an achievement to any summoner, due to the trials they had to go through to even get there. Everyone was excited, even the later arrivals who were just now looking around. One summoner, in particular, was the most energetic. That wasn't too surprising for her, though.

"It's so beautiful!" The golden-brunette cried, jumping in her spot to try and lessen her overabundance of excitement. Her fox spirit, Inari, could do to take some of that excess energy himself. He stood off to the side with an unamused glare and arms tucked over his chest, watching his summoner dance about so her girlish school girl style skirt flew about her thighs.

"Its a building, Faera. I feel you are overexaggerating things." He spoke coolly, sharp green eyes never leaving her even as she stopped to face him with a childish pout.

"It is not! This is the Tower of Babel, it is super important to summoners, and we worked so hard to even get in here! And today, we are climbing it!" Faera stated in her confident way, hand on her hip and finger to the sky only to earn an exasperated sigh from her white haired companion. She grabbed him by his clawed hand and dragged his unwilling self further into the new world.

Faera ran towards the a group of others, amber eyes shooting about wildly. "This has to be it. Let's go!" She was about to march herself in when she was lifted a few inches off the ground by the back of her shirt.

"Don't you think we should get some things to prepare for whatever is up there first? We're late already." Inari practically growled, ear flicking in distaste.

"No! Action first, planning later! That's my philosophy."
"That philosophy is what always makes me end up saving you!"

~Tania and Lena~

The next two dummies were easy enough to deal with. The second fell to Tania's blade form. The sharp, almost weightless silver blade made quick work of slicing into the dummies head with surprising ease. Thankfully, there wasn't much room for error and she didn't trip over her own feet. The third was a simple recorder dummy, and she barely had to do anything for that. Just borrow some of Tania's power for herself, and use a simple thrust. The only difference was, she started out five yards away and managed to close the distance in only a second.

Currently, the elf was staring down the final Training dummy. She felt a bit winded, heh, but it was nothing her long hours of physical training couldn't help with.

"Alright, I can do this..." She mumbled to herself. She just had to focus. This 'skill' if you will, was something Lena and Tania had been working on for awhile now. With the User form, Lena's body and equipment become as if it were the wind. Incredibly light to the point of almost weighing nothing, but still retaining the other qualities of it. It was quite useful in a number of situations, and since it barely took any sort of effort to maintain at all it was fairly useful.

The only thing she wished was easier, was actually controlling the wind. Every time she tried to do it so far, she failed horribly. She had been getting better, if a little, but...well, maybe she'd get it right this time. The elf held her sword at her side, both hands gripping the hilt of the blade. If done correctly, aside from being hit with the blade, a powerful gust of wind would send whatever was hit to the ground.

The elf swung the sword downwards. Unfortunately, in fear of using too little power, she seemed to have used too much, and instead of directing it towards the dummy, she directed it towards the ground. A powerful gust of wind sent her flying backwards a few yards, barely having time to utter a small squeal as she was launched backwards. The good news, was she hit her target. Bad news was, she was laying on the ground a bit dizzy. Worse news, the gust of wind sent her sword flying off to who knows where. Oh, and her body suddenly felt like it weighed a ton.

"Uh...well, good news is you hit the dummy..sorta. If you count barely grazing its arm as hitting it..." Tania's voice didn't sound too reassuring. "Bad news is, uh, well, your sword decided to take flying lessons from a bird that can't fly itself."

Lena simply covered her face with her hands, trying to hide her embarrassment at screwing up. It didn't even do what it was supposed too. Sure, the power was there this time but without any sort of control, she'd just end up hurting more than helping....like always.

"Haaa..." Lena sighed, shaking her head after a few seconds. Well, she couldn't lay here and criticize her own failures. She'd just have to do better next time she tried it. "We should, uhm, probably try and go find my sword." The elf shook her head. It'd be bad if it hurt someone in the process of getting a crash landing.

"Right behind ya."

@cloudystar@Lady Athena

Vilivyn was still pouting a little bit in her failure when the robed figure suddenly sat down only a few feet away from her. After blinking a few times, the black haired girl realized she had made a new friend! Apparently her attempts at being friendly were working well!

Okami was offering to help, but the girl shook her head with a smile. "I'll carry you!" And truthfully, it would be less of a carry than a drag, but that was just details!

The robed figure currently captured her imagination for now though, getting the majority of her attention. Maybe the person was a little shy, but needed a friend!? That was a service the spirit touched was glad to provide, and she scooted a foot closer unintentionally. "You haven't told me your name ..." A gasp followed, a ridiculous thought occurring to the teenager. "Maybe ... you don't have one!? Imustcorrectthat!" Bringing her legs up to her chest, the girl put a finger on her chin as if deep in thought before a smile wider than any of the previous ones went across her lips. "Alba! It means 'robe', and I figure it 'suits' you quite well!" It was a bad pun, but perhaps a lame sense of humor would help the shy person come out of their shell?

---

After resting and receiving Vilvyn's message, he starts getting back up to face the next dummy. However, before starting to go into User Form, he notices a girl nearby and a fox-human Spirit of sorts with her. He heads over to her waving a bit and starts to approach her with a friendly smile. The youthful summoner was about to say something until a random sword came flying at the person he was going to. He quickly activates his User Form to give his speed a little boost as he hurries over and pushes her out of the way of the flying blade. It wizzes by and lands in the ground with a heavy thud, causing Okami to sigh from relief. His User Form was causing his entire body to have very small crackles of white lightning but he was still pretty fine from moving that fast.

"Hey, you okay? Sorry about pushing you...that sword just came out of nowhere! Better get it and give it back to its owner when I get the chance to....the name is Okami and from the looks of it, you're late just like me and a few of my new friends. Nice to meet you and did you fill out your form and such to get your dummies? You better hurry the two of you...don't know how much longer it will take before the trial is over."

Okami starts heading back his User Form going back to normal to start prepping for his second dummy. The evasive lad starts focusing more energy into his hands and shifts back into User Form. Generating a small voltage of electricity between his hands, he grabs the neck of the dummy and tries to shock it for a good while. He does so for a good 15 seconds before pulling back and taking another deep breath to regain his lost energy. The small ripples of electricity fade away as he returns to normal.

"And another one down...two more and the next form is a piece of cake hehe. You guys good over there?"

@RabidAnubis@Cherrywitch@Lady Athena

@cloudystar
@Legion02
@Cherrywitch
@Rune_Alchemist
@cloudystar
@Lady Athena

Samuel remained limp on the ground, but is very cautious of the young man. After all, strange spheres hovering over a persons back is far from normal. Then again... Everyone I've met so far has been anything but normal... Samuel attempts to shake his head to get rid of this rude thought, but only manages to turn his head. Samuel looks up to the young man, hopeful that he does not look to pathetic.

“No but, hold on please. I need to finish my stuff.”

Samuel continues to gaze quizzically at the young man as he set up another dummy. The young man muttered something under his breath and Samuel thought about listening, until realizing that it would be extremely rude. The young man held out a very muscular arm and seemingly punched the air with an open palm, sending his orb nearly careening into a competitor with blond hair and a regal appearance. The young man stammered out an apology and continued to launch his orbs, occasional missing the dummy and nearly hitting one of the other kids in the distance. As he does this, Samuel slowly regains his energy, having taken off his robe to help cool himself down. Countless scars littered the old mans body, contrasting sharply with the kind and caring nature he usually exhibits. Samuel looks down to his side and sees the small bird, Gabriel, standing near him, looking almost as tired as he was. The man and bird continued to watch as the young man finally finished off the dummy he was firing at.

“Yes!”

Samuel smiled at the exclamation. Usually, such optimism was rare among kids nowadays. If only Samuel had been like that in his youth... Samuel's mind snapped back to reality as the orbs seemingly moved above his head and divided, forming a halo of some combination of cold and white. They then congealed in place over his head, and a small yellow gem appeared in the center. The young man made quick work of his last two dummies. He then turned to Samuel, smiled, and offered an outstretched hand.

“Sorry, I just realized, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Alex Reinner. Tell me, priest. Are you looking for someone to team up with? Because I would definitely want someone like you having my back.”

Samuel smiled. Finally... Someone with a normal name... Samuel shakes his head before he giggled like a school girl and slings his robe over his shoulder. Reaching out for the outstretched hand, Samuel grips Alex's forearm and pulls himself up.

"I would be honored to offer you my shield, Alex. My name is Samuel Evans, but I would prefer if you simply called me 'Father' or 'Samuel'. If you would like, I could lead you to my other companions. They would surely accept someone of your caliber into the party!"

Samuel grins a toothy smile at the young man. This was someone who Samuel would be happy to travel with. A large blast sounds off in the distance, and Samuel is left wondering: Did everyone else have as hard of a time as I did?



HOLY FRIJOLES! WHAT IN GOOD GOD IS MASTER DOING!? Even I, the mighty Gabriel, am thoroughly exhausted! Surely this license or whatever we are here for is not so important that we must work so hard! Then again... maidens do enjoy the look of a man layered in sweat... Yes! That is how I can woo the maidens! Very well, I shall work until I die of dehydration- wait...

I do not possess sweat glands...

Oh well! The mighty Gabriel does not need to resort to such cowardly methods to gain maidens!

As soon as my master sits down, I immediately switch to my beast form. Our time is then spent watching the inferior summoner attempt to hit a simple training dummy... Then again, everyone is inferior to the mighty Gabriel!

Soon, the summoner steps in front of us and offers my master a hand. I pay no attention to the words that escape his mouth hole: he is neither a maiden, nor is he a bumbling joke character, so I have no need for him. I instead look at the... V-very attractive spirit that seems to accompany him. Surely a maiden like her would be willing to t-talk to me? N-nah... the m-m-mighty Gabriel cannot be limited to one maiden, no matter how c-cute she is...